


favorite

by impossiblepluto



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Cairo Day 2020 (MacGyver TV 2016), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, POV Outsider, Parental Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Pre-Series, ranch fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23682391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impossiblepluto/pseuds/impossiblepluto
Summary: Emmy is six years old. Her favorite color is purple. Her favorite animal is an elephant. Mom says it’s okay to have favorite things and places and colors, but she shouldn’t have favorite people. And that's easy to follow because she would never want to hurt anyone's feelings.Except that she does have a favorite uncle.Cairo Day Four: Outsider POV
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 56
Kudos: 128





	favorite

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Cairo Day Four! Oh my goodness, I can't believe we're halfway through the week. I first started playing with the idea for this story about a year and a half ago! (it's been written, rewritten, revised, and deleted a dozen times and from a half dozen different povs.) Thanks for selecting Outsider POV for part of Cairo Week and forcing me to finally buckle down and write it!

Emmy is six years old. Her favorite color is purple. Her favorite animal is an elephant, even if she can’t spell it yet, she can draw it. Her favorite letter is probably “E” and that has nothing to do with the fact that her name and her favorite animal both start with it. 

Her favorite place is her grandparents’ ranch, under the hayloft where Mitzy always has her kittens. And her favorite food is chocolate chip cookies.

Mom says it’s okay to have favorite things and places and colors, but she shouldn’t have favorite people. 

Emmy thinks that’s sort of silly. Because even mom calls Auntie Amy her best friend and best is sort of like a favorite. So, there are exceptions to this rule and one of those exceptions is probably that you shouldn’t tell people if they aren’t your favorite, only tell the person who is. And that’s fine. It’s a good idea. She wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. 

And it’s an easy rule to follow because she doesn’t have a best friend. She has lots of friends

She doesn’t have a favorite cousin. She doesn’t have a favorite aunt or grandparent. Not even a favorite sibling. 

But she has a favorite uncle. 

She can’t help it.

Uncle Jack is her favorite. He makes chocolate chip cookies with her. And sits under the hayloft for hours petting kittens when no one else has time for her, too busy cooking or watching football or playing games. 

He built her a rope swing and let her drive the ranch truck while sitting on his lap. 

And even though he missed her birthday party, he sent her a video of himself reading her favorite book so she can listen to it over and over again. And while it's not the same as sitting next to him while he reads, if she closes her eyes she can pretend.

And it’s okay for her to tell Uncle Jack that he’s her favorite. Because his eyes always get soft. Sometimes they can be scary, when he’s giving the monsters in the closet a talking to and “their walking papers.” Mostly, his eyes like to laugh and tell jokes and sing silly songs with silly words.

It's special when his eyes get soft. Then his voice gets real low. He starts to sound even more like Great-grandpop Zeke, his accent gets thicker. It's the safest, warmest place in the whole world when his eyes get soft. Even better than new baby kittens under the hayloft.

And he tells her that she’s his favorite. She knows that’s true because Uncle Jack would never lie to her. It's important to tell the truth. And, he tells her, it's important to tell people how you feel.

She thinks that especially true because he's gone a lot. He misses things like birthdays and Christmas and the Fourth of July because he's a soldier. Mom says he’s a hero. That he’s brave and strong and wants to protect people. That's why he missed her birthday this year. Because he stayed extra long in the Army to protect people.

“He’s always been good at picking up strays. It's no wonder he stayed there for that kid,” Great-grandpop Zeke says in the kitchen and her Grammy Jillian shushes him. 

“Pop, they’re right upstairs. And little pinchers,” she gestures to Emmy. That's a not so secret code that means the grown ups are talking and don't want little kids listening in.

“He kept that whole litter of baby possums. They followed him around like he was a momma duck. He’d have all ten of ‘em hanging off his fingers by their tails.”

Emmy smiles at the idea.

“Are you saying that the kid imprinted on Jacky?”

“Nah, I think it’s the other way around. You didn’t see the two of them at the airport. He was parting the crowd like Moses parted the Red Sea, but the only thing he was paying attention to was making sure that boy was okay. Jacky was always meant to be a big brother.” 

"Well, I'm glad he found Jacky. A boy like that doesn't deserve to be alone."

Emmy frowns. She doesn't like the idea of Cousin Mac being alone either.

Uncle Jack introduced her to Cousin Mac first. She was outside on the tire swing in front of the house, vibrating in excitement waiting for him to arrive from the airport. Dancing on the edge of the grass while he put the car into park. Picking her up and swinging her around and then his eyes got soft.

She doesn’t remember having a cousin named Mac. He has blond hair when the rest of her family had dark brown or black. She thinks she would remember him because he's important to Uncle Jack.

He’s quiet and shy. And she understands that. There’s a lot of people at the ranch, sometimes it makes her feel even smaller than she is. It makes her want to go hide somewhere. Sometimes Uncle Jack will take her out to the shed while he tries not to curse at the tractor as it smokes and sputters and doesn’t work. It’s special to be out there with him. He doesn’t let just anyone near that tractor. It means Uncle Jack chose you.

Maybe Cousin Mac is feeling overwhelmed like that too.

She offers a timid smile that he cautiously returns. At least, she knows everybody at the ranch. She has a hard time with strangers, but she thinks maybe he does too. And the whole ranch, except Uncle Jack, is a stranger to him. And everyone wants to meet him.

After lunch, and Cousin Mac didn't eat very much she noticed, she takes him and Uncle Jack to see the newest batch of kittens. Cousin Mac looks relieved. Uncle Jack tries to help him sit on the floor, but he shrugs off his hand. 

“I’ve got it, Jack.”

“You’re held together with baling wire and skin glue.” 

Emmy cocks her head to one side, noticing the tall boot on his foot. It looks like when her teacher broke her leg. 

Uncle Jack’s eyes are worried. And Cousin Mac rolls his eyes. She wants to tell him that Uncle Jack wants to protect people. He always wants to help. 

Instead, she passes Cousin Mac a kitten, that immediately crawls up his arm and tries to shimmy down the collar of his shirt. He laughs and Uncle Jack’s eyes are soft. 

It’s still dark when she wakes up. She was having a dream about a puppy who was scared. He was whimpering, crying out for someone to rescue him and make him feel safe. There are tears on her pillow when she opens her eyes. Someday, she's going to find this little, lost, yellow puppy and take him home with her and he'll never feel scared as long as he's with his new family.

She pushed out of bed and shivers when her bare feet hit the cold wooden floor. 

She hears Uncle Jack’s low voice from the room next door.

A moment later she hears a new noise. Step-clunk. Step-clunk. Hollow and sad. A minute later strong footsteps follow. 

When she hears the screen door shut quietly, she creeps down the stairs. 

Cicadas chirp. The air is warm and sweet. She can just barely make out to figures on the porch in the darkness. Cousin Mac on the swing with his leg propped up. Uncle Jack leaning against the railing. 

Uncle Jack hands over a steaming cup of coffee. Cousin Mac sighs as he sips on the beverage.

"You're up early."

Cousin Mac shrugs, taking another sip.

"Pain or nightmares?" 

"A little of both," Cousin Mac admits, glancing up at Uncle Jack around the coffee cup.

Emmy feels sad. Things aren’t supposed to hurt at the ranch. Things aren’t supposed to be scary when Uncle Jack is around. He takes care of things like monsters and nightmares. He makes skinned knees feel better. 

"You take anything?"

"Tylenol."

"They gave you percocets for a reason." Uncle Jack hands him a muffin.

"Makes me fuzzy," Cousin Mac distractedly accepts the offered breakfast. 

Uncle Jack sets the extra muffins on the porch railing next to him, leaning against it watching Cousin Mac. "You got a lot of thinkin' you need to do today that you need your head to be clear for?"

"I just don't like the feeling," Cousin Mac shrugs, pulling another piece off his muffin, studying it before popping it into his mouth. "I can't keep my eyes opened."

"You're supposed to be resting," Uncle Jack says gently. "We can park you next to Great-Uncle Phil and you can try out-snoring him on the couch. I promise I won't flick popcorn into your mouth if it starts hanging open."

Emmy slaps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. 

Cousin Mac looks up at Uncle Jack. "Makes it harder to wake up too." He absently peels apart the muffin in his hand, separating the cranberries and the walnuts.

It’s dark enough that the shadows hide his face, but Emmy imagines how sad Uncle Jack’s eyes must look. 

Uncle Jack taps the knee of his good leg. "If you're done autopsying that muffin, I got something for you."

Cousin Mac quirks an eyebrow.

“Come on,” Uncle Jack beckons before turning and leading Cousin Mac off the porch and through the yard. Emmy wonders if they’re going to see the kittens again, remembering Cousin Mac’s laughter, but they continue past the barn.

Emmy smiles. He’s going to take Cousin Mac to see the tractor. She hopes that will make him feel safe and special like it makes her feel.

It's mid-afternoon, Uncle Jack is laying on the couch when Cousin Mac tells him he’s going for a walk. He starts to get up, looking for his shoes, but Cousin Mac says that he’s going alone. 

They have an argument with their eyes. 

They do a lot of talking without saying words. Emmy has picked up on that. Great-grandpop Zeke says it’s because they were soldiers together. Sometimes you can’t talk if you are sneaking up on bad guys. That bond between soldiers helps them communicate and keeps them safe. 

Emmy is glad that they are so good at it. 

She watches as Uncle Jack stares out the screen door when Cousin Mac leaves. A few minutes later she smiles to herself and slips outside. She sneaks behind Cousin Mac, he walks past the barn and the shed, then down along the creek.

“You can walk with me if you want,” Cousin Mac’s voice rings out and stops her cold. She thought she was doing a good job at staying out of sight. 

“It’s part of my job to know when someone is following me. I might have missed you completely otherwise.”

She scampers to stand next to him.

“Did your Uncle Jack tell you to follow me?”

“No,” she answers, eyes wide. 

He considers her words and then shrugs. “Just out for a walk too?”

She shrugs. “I decided to follow you on my own. Uncle Jack looks worried.”

“He usually does,” Cousin Mac smiles. “Alright. I could use a tour guide to make sure I don’t wander off the ranch.”

Emmy laughs. “It’s miles and miles. I don’t think you could walk that far on your leg.”

“That is probably very true right now.” 

"Did you hurt your leg protecting people?"

Cousin Mac pauses, and Emmy wonders if she's being too inquisitive. That's a fancy word for nosy. He looks down at her for a long minute and Emmy worries he's going to tell her that she's too young to understand. She's six after all.

"That's why Uncle Jack is a soldier, because he wants to protect people."

"And he's very good at his job."

"Momma says he's a hero."

"Well, I think he's a hero too. He protected me."

Emmy looks down at his leg and frowns.

"I could have been hurt a lot worse if it wasn't for your Uncle Jack. Sometimes people can't stop bad things from happening, but they can stop them from being worse."

Emmy nods considering his words.

They take off walking again. Cousin Mac points out different plants, insects, and birds. He talks about eating crickets or how fast the hawk soaring above them can fly, swoop, and dive. Emmy points out the path where Uncle Jack took her on a picnic, where the poison ivy patch they can't get rid of is, and the place in the stream to catch the best frogs. 

The sun is hot as they cross the meadow and Emmy is looking forward to lemonade when they return to the house. She skips ahead a few steps, and then waits for Cousin Mac to catch up. Repeating the process several times until the ground gives way beneath her feet. 

She screams. Cousin Mac lunges and grabs her arm, trying to stop her from falling but it happens too fast and he’s pulled down into the hole after her with a yell. 

One second laughing, the next second hanging in the air. Cousin Mac pulls her close as they fall. Tucking her against his chest, twisting so he doesn’t hurt her. 

Her breath is knocked out of her when they land. She wonders if she’ll ever be able to breathe again. Staring up out of the hole at the blue cloudless sky, gasping like the time Tommy pushed her off the jungle gym at school. 

After a moment, that feels like much longer, she pulls in a shaky breath. Her head hurts where it jostled but otherwise, she doesn’t hurt very much. Cousin Mac protected her. 

Cousin Mac!

She scrambles out of his arms. Her feet slip on the cold, muddy dirt. He’s laying on the ground and he’s not moving. She shakes his shoulder but he doesn’t wake up.

Tears fill her eyes. What if he’s hurt? What if he dies? What if they’re stuck down here and no one ever finds them?

It's dark down here, and she's not afraid of the dark. Not really. But...

Uncle Jack will find them. She decides resolutely and then falters.

But what if he doesn’t know to start looking?

She looks through Cousin Mac’s pockets and finds his cell phone. Wiping the tears the roll down her cheeks, she scrolls through his contacts and finds the one labeled “Jack” and pushes send.

“You're takin' your sweet time out there, hoss."

“Uncle Jack!” The phone is staticky. Buzzing. Maybe it broke during the fall. Or they can’t get service in the hole. 

“Emmy? What’s wrong? Where’s Mac?”

“We fell. In the meadow. There’s a big hole there now.”

“What! Hang on honey. We’re coming.” The phone buzzes and the call is dropped. Emmy tries not to cry. She knows that Uncle Jack is coming for her.

Cousin Mac moans.

She leans over his face, watching him. He moans again. His eyebrows lower and his eyelids flutter. 

He groans. And his mouth frowns. 

“Cousin Mac?” She whispers. 

He grunts.

“Cousin Mac? Can you hear me?”

A hand comes up to his forehead. “Emmy?”

“Yeah. Are you okay?”

He opens his eyes. “Emmy! Are you okay?” He scrambles, sitting up. He reaches out and then stops himself. 

She nods her head.

“Are you sure? You aren’t hurting anywhere? Your head?”

“A little,” she says.

“Can I look at your head?” 

She shrugs and scoots closer. He places his hands gently on her face and squints as he looks into her eyes, shaking his head after a moment. He brushes a hand through her hair. 

“Do you hurt anywhere?”

"I’m okay, Em.”

She frowns, not believing him, and he smiles at her. "You look like your Uncle Jack when you make that face. He doesn't always believe me when I say I'm not hurt."

"Uncle Jack worries too much," Emmy repeats what she's heard her momma, her grammy and Uncle Jack's momma say and Mac chuckles. "It's cause you're under his protection."

She slides down to sit next to him, wedging herself under his arm. She can feel him tense at the contact and then relax. Cousin Mac needs more hugs she decides, making a plan to always sit next to him if Uncle Jack isn't already. She cranes her neck, looking up at him. He's got two sides to sit next to though.

“Emmy! Mac!” Uncle Jack’s voice drifts down to them. It sounds so far away.

“We’re here, Uncle Jack!” Emmy yells.

A second later a worried face pops over the edge of the hole. 

"Hey darling, we're gonna get you out of there real soon. I promise."

With rescue on the way, and she doesn’t have to pretend to have courage anymore, her voice is shaky and wet. She doesn't want it to be. She doesn't want him to think that she's scared. "Okay," she agrees with him, but her tone belies her disbelief. It’s a long way down. She doesn't think there's a ladder long enough to reach them. Cousin Mac's arm tightens around her shoulder.

"You're so brave." Jack praises. "Growin' up so fast. You look just like your momma."

She doesn't answer, head bowed. 

“Are you okay?”

“My head hurts a little bit. Cousin Mac looked at it.”

“I didn’t feel any bumps or displacements, Jack. But I… it’s a little dark down here to check her eyes.” 

Emmy sniffles and latches onto Mac’s chest, pressing her face into his shirt. She’s tired of being brave. She wants to go home now. Cousin Mac gently puts one hand on her back, patting lightly.

“Um...It’s... it's going to be okay, Em," his voice doesn't sound sure but as he continues it gains confidence. "Jack’s here. He’ll get us out. He likes to protect people, remember?"

She sniffs and nods, but doesn't loosen her grasp on his shirt.

"Hey, Em, can you do me a favor?"

Emmy peers up towards Uncle Jack. Her cheeks are shiny with tears, but she nods, wondering what crazy thing Uncle Jack could come up with for her to do when she's stuck, far out of reach.

"Can you tell me how Cousin Mac is doing?"

"I'm fine, Jack.”

"Don't interrupt Mac, I'm talking with Emmy."

"He hit his head when he fell, and didn't talk for a really long time. He's got blood on his face."

"Yeah? Has he said anything really silly?"

Emmy's face twists in bemusement and she shakes her head before realizing that it's maybe too dark for him to see. "No."

"That's good. Cousin Mac is really smart but sometimes he starts talking about things no one else can understand."

There’s some scuffling at the top of the hole, and Jack leans back. Emmy watches anxiously for him to appear at the edge again.

“No, I’ll be the one to go down there,” Jack’s voice drifts down to them.

“I can do it…” she hears Uncle Nick offer.

“Do you really think I’m going to let you go back underground? Hope you had your Wheaties this morning cause I’m going to need you up here.”

The rescue happens quickly. Not quite as fast as their descent into the hole, but Uncle Jack half-climbs is half-lowered into the hole.

"It's a nice little hobbit hole you two have got here? But you ready to blow this popsicle stand?" He asks and helps her and Cousin Mac to freedom. 

Hugging her mom, she starts crying again once she’s on the ground instead of in it. 

“I’m fine,” Cousin Mac is arguing and Uncle Jack is hugging him. Putting his hands on his face and looking into his eyes like Cousin Mac did with her. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“You’re only six weeks out from a concussion, dude. You are absolutely getting checked out. Don’t tell me that Emmy is braver than a big strong soldier like you,” Uncle Jack winks at her. “Besides, she might want her protector to ride in with her. 

Cousin Mac looks over at her. His eyes are worried. He frowns and crosses his arms. “I’m not staying.”

Neither of them has to stay the night. Examined and scanned. Emmy has a scrape on her cheek that they clean and cover with a bandage. They're finished with her faster than Cousin Mac and she insists on going to find him. He's sitting on the table and smiles when she walks into the cubicle. Her mom tries to apologize for intruding. That means barging in where she's not supposed to go. But she doesn't want to leave Cousin Mac alone.

She looks at Uncle Jack who is standing next to him, arms crossed and frowning. But not because he's upset. Because he's worried. Cousin Mac will never be alone again.

She crawls onto Cousin Mac’s lap and holds his hand while he gets a few stitches in his hairline. Uncle Jack sticks close by and he gets instructions about watching Cousin Mac for a concussion. That means his brain was shaken when they fell, the nurse tells her, and she's glad Cousin Mac has a nice nurse who explains things to her too and doesn't ignore her like she's a baby. She likes to learn new things. They have to make sure that he doesn't start saying silly things, or fall asleep and won't wake up. Emmy frowns. She's not going to let that happen.

Once they're back on the ranch, Emmy's mom and Cousin Mac's Jack make sure the two adventurers are packed onto the couch in the living room, tucked in with blankets and fresh cookies. She sits on one side and Uncle Jack on the other. Mac blushes under the attention and praise when Emmy tells the whole story of how Mac fell in trying to save her and her mom kisses his cheek.

“Uncle Jack,” Emmy whispers because Cousin Mac fell asleep against his shoulder. Uncle Jack tells her that he'll have to wake him up in a little while, but some sleeping is okay. It's good for healing.

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“I have something to tell you, but it might make you sad.”

Uncle Jack shifts in his seat, looking down at Cousin Mac to make sure he didn’t wake him. Then leaning forward, around Mac to look at Emmy. “That’s okay. It’s important to tell the truth.”

“You’re still my favorite,” she says seriously. “But you have to share now. Because Cousin Mac is my favorite too.”

Jack smiles, reaching across Cousin Mac for her hand and squeezing it. 

“There is no one else I’d rather share the favorite spot with than Cousin Mac.” 

His eyes are soft.

**Author's Note:**

> For my friends: 12 who loves possums and Sabby who raised a whole litter of them.


End file.
